Laughing and Joking are Unprofitable.
By E. P. Daniels
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven, . . . a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” Eccl. 3:1-4. There are some people to whom this very simple language is as enigmatical as the Greek, from the simple fact that with many there is such a strong desire for the gratification of their selfish habits that they mistake their false interpretation for the true. And it is not because they cannot be readily comprehended, for the terms are simple; but it is owing, principally, to the fact that they are blind to the truth through a love for an error, which, when indulged in, proves a source of pleasure to them; for worldly pleasure of to-day is an incentive that leads many poor souls back to Egypt. Laughter is a convulsive expression of merriment, mirth, and gayety, and, when heartily indulged in, it leaves a broad field for conjecture as to one's consecration. Well, says one, “To every thing there is a season,” and why may I not indulge in a season of laughter now and then as the opportunity may present itself; for I love to laugh? But let me answer the question by asking another. Did you ever read in God's word that Jesus went about laughing, jesting, and making all around him merry? Contrast the one who stands up and declares himself the representative of Christ, while he indulges in a habit that belies his solemn profession, with the meek and lowly Saviour, who, while upon earth, sought no time to jest and joke, laugh, and make merry, but was many times seen to weep over the sins of this wicked world, and with a voice of pathos, invite the return of the wandering ones that had been so long from their Father's house. Yes! Jesus wept. Oh! that we might more fully realize the priceless value of those tears. No man ever wept like the Saviour; for his weeping was not occasioned by trifling disappointments, by scoffs and jeers. But when he looked down through the vista of time and saw the misery and suffering in the world, its hopeless and apostate condition before God, his loving heart was melted into tears, and he uttered the welcome invitation, “Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Jesus knew no pleasure save in obedience to his Father's will. It was his greatest joy to suffer the ignominious death of the cross, that he might ransom his children from their sins; and gladness fills his heart when he beholds his dear children striving to possess a meek and lowly spirit, having no will save to glorify God in their bodies and spirits which are his. We cannot do this by laughing and jesting, however innocent it may appear to some, for this is the spirit of the world; and, if we possess a worldly spirit, we are none of his. We are unsanctified, having the form of godliness, and by our lives we deny the power thereof. How displeasing it must be in the sight of God to see those who claim to represent his Son (in whose life was found nothing impure, and who frequently wept, was often in prayer, and who sacrificed things temporal for things eternal, to be bestowed upon those that should follow him afterward,) going about jesting and laughing at every foolish thing that is said or done; but mourning and weeping over every trivial disappointment in life. With what disdain the God of Heaven must look down upon such representatives as these, pretending to be like Jesus, but more like the world. Oh! that we might feel more interest in those things that pertain to eternal life, and dispense with that which gives no life, neither imparts to us spiritual vitality, but rather lessens our chances for eternity. Let us lay off every weight and the sins that so easily besets us, and run with patience the race set before us, looking unto Christ, who is the author and finisher of our faith, for our reward.